When he began playing college basketball, LSU senior guard Antonio Robinson was an 18-year-old freshman at McPherson College in Kansas.
Today, Robinson is almost 23 and finishing up his architecture and graphic design classes before graduation in May 2015. He’s also one of two walk-ons on LSU’s 2014-15 basketball roster.
“It’s kind of weird being so old and it being my first year on the team,” Robinson said. “But I have a place on the team of bringing a maturity factor.”
Robinson was born and raised in Louisiana and graduated from Parkway High School in Bossier City in 2010.
After getting offers from multiple schools throughout the central United States, he decided to continue his basketball career at McPherson College, an NAIA school in McPherson, Kansas.
“It was quite a while ago that I was getting recruited,” Robinson said. “I had schools like Grambling, Southern and some NAIA schools in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. But the coaching staff at McPherson really stood out.”
McPherson head coach Tim Swartzendruber recruited Robinson and got him to sign with the Bulldogs. Robinson was the only player from Louisiana who Swartzendruber both recruited and brought to the team in 2010.
Robinson said he felt comfortable as soon as he stepped on campus, and that McPherson was where he belonged. Swartzendruber took Robinson under his wing and helped him get accustomed to a new school as well as life on the court.
“Out of high school, the great coaching staff is what really drew me to McPherson,” Robinson said. “But it was also the opportunity to be in a new environment. I just wanted to get away. I’m a Louisiana native, and it was just a different opportunity for me to get to go out there and play basketball with new people and join a new team.”
Robinson fit in with the team right away. He became close friends with everyone on the roster, immersed himself in campus life and made the most of his first year at college.
“I got really close with all the guys I was playing with. A couple guys like D’Onte Woods and Trent Severs, we really got accustomed to each other and I really liked it,” Robinson said. “It was a real family environment. I still talk to those guys. We still stay in contact. Some of them are starting to do other things like get married and have a family and everything.”
Although Robinson had a close bond with the players and coaching staff, he said the classroom setting at McPherson wasn’t what he had hoped for. He decided he needed to transfer to a school that could help him achieve his dream of working for an architecture or graphic design firm.
Robinson said the decision was tough, but it was one that will help him immensely in the long run.
“The education is what brought me to LSU,” Robinson said. “I really saw that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do in the classroom at McPherson, and I just wanted to come back home. LSU really fit me the best because I want to go further in architecture and graphic design.”
Because Robinson wanted his education to come first, he had to put basketball on the backburner. He had played basketball his entire life, and when he hung up his shoes, he was able to experience a whole new world.
“The three-year span of not playing basketball was weird,” Robinson said. “I took that time to just live a regular student life. I attended games, did different student activities and just experienced college. I was able to do things with my time that I wouldn’t be able to do as a collegiate athlete.”
Robinson couldn’t stay away from basketball for long, however.
He decided to help out with the LSU women’s basketball team as a practice player, and Robinson instantly began to bond with everyone around him.
“I joined to help with the women’s team to make me feel involved in basketball again,” Robinson said. “I really started to grow relationships with the managers and coaching staff, and every year I got to meet new players. I built relationships with everyone.”
Being around a collegiate basketball environment made his desire to play again even stronger.
Robinson said his friends always encouraged him to try out for the men’s team, but he didn’t heed the suggestions until this year. He said he didn’t expect to play at the collegiate level again, so when the opportunity arose, he took it.
“They told me that when I went to the UREC, I was better than most of the players there,” Robinson said. “So I took the opportunity to try to walk on to the team, and coach Johnny Jones and the coaching staff blessed me with the opportunity.”
Just like he immersed himself in McPherson basketball in 2010, Robinson has fully engaged with the Tigers’ program. Through his hard work, he has earned his teammates’ respect and has bonded with them.
“It’s just playing basketball,” Robinson said. “That’s how you relate with everyone. If you can play, you can play. They saw I could play a little bit, and they respect that. If you come out and work out every day, the recruited guys respect that and bring you in. They saw I could actually play and wasn’t just out there to be out there.”
Robinson’s hard work and journey to join the Tigers hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Junior guard Keith Hornsby said since day one, Robinson has made a statement to the recruited players.
“He’s just one of those guys who is always good to have out there with us,” Hornsby said. “Every time he plays in practice, he plays tremendously hard. He gives it his all. He knows what this opportunity means, so he’s not going to mess around or take it for granted. Even if he might not get many minutes, it doesn’t matter to him.”
Robinson said he’s always keeping busy with his homework or his job when he’s not playing basketball.
He works at Yvette Marie’s Cafe, a small restaurant in Mid City Baton Rouge. He’s worked there since summer 2014 and said going to work is something he truly enjoys.
“It’s hard and time consuming to have a job and play [Division I] basketball, but at the same time, it’s what I have to do to support myself as a student as well as an athlete,” Robinson said. “All the employees I work with love me and I love them, and we make everything fun. It’s never like, ‘I have to go to work.’ It’s always, ‘I can’t wait to go to work.’ I enjoy what I do.”
Not only does he have a good time at his job, but his coworkers enjoy Robinson and the positive presence he brings to the staff.
Brett Sollberger is a manager at Yvette Marie’s, and he said Robinson is always fun to have around.
“We have eight employees who work here, so it’s very tight-knit. When you work here it’s kind of congested. We’re really good friends, it’s like a little family,” Sollberger said. “He’s diligent. He’s also great with the ladies. They love Antonio. He can be quiet, but when he needs to say something, he’s pretty eloquent.”
Robinson’s journey has led him from Louisiana to Kansas and back with many twists and turns he never expected.
But Robinson hasn’t let that faze him. He has approached all of his challenges head-on and said he appreciates the opportunities he has been given, taking none of them for granted.
“I just want to become a better basketball player. I want to build my basketball IQ and take everything in from the coaching staff,” Robinson said. “Maybe I’ll continue playing basketball as a career overseas, or maybe I’ll work as an architect in a firm or in graphic design. No matter what I end up doing, I just want to work hard and make myself better.”
You can reach Michael Haarala on Twitter @haarala_TDR.